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ERICA HOWE, MD

Physician and Founder of the Women Physicians Wellness Conference

Dr. Howe is a board-certified Hospitalist and a nationally known educator, wife, and mother to three crazy kids. As a prolific speaker and lifelong advocate for improved wellness in medicine, she has given 200+ talks both nationally and internationally on topics like conflict management, gaining clarity in your clinical career, time management, and boundary setting.

Her endeavors in teaching and mentoring have been recognized with a number of honors and awards including receipt of the Kathleen McCluskey-Fawcett Woman Mentoring Women Award, the medical student-elected Rainbow Award Finalist for “teaching the art of medicine by example”, and the Distinguished Chancellor’s Teaching Award, one of the highest honors given to educators at the University of Kansas.

In 2018, she founded the Women Physicians Wellness Conference in Grand Cayman as a way of bringing women physicians together to share their struggles and their strategies for success. She believes that women are stronger together and wants to inspire them to find the courage, clarity, and community to succeed on their own terms, instead of someone else’s.

2020 SPEAKING EVENTS

Feb 2020-National Women Physicians Day hosted by Chris Longly (Kansas City, KS)

Feb 2020-The Women Physicians Wellness Conference (Grand Cayman Island)

May 2020-Virtual Faculty Discussion Series, Children’s Mercy Hospital (Kansas City, KS)

Sept 2020-Women in White Coats Virtual Summit

Sept 2020-Brave Enough Virtual Summit

October 2020-Abrazo Physician Leadership Retreat (Tucson, AZ)

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2021 SPEAKING EVENTS

February 2021-The Women Physicians Wellness Virtual Leadership Summit

April 2021-Evolution Conference: Changing Paradigms for Women Treating Cancer (Kansas City, KS)

July 2021-The University of Kansas Medical Center Women in Medicine Society Virtual Meeting

July 2021-The National Coalition of Physician Wellbeing (Denver, CO)

Sept 2021-The Brave Enough Conference (Scottsdale, AZ)

Oct 2021-The American College of Emergency Osteopathic Physicians Conference (Washington, DC)

2022 SPEAKING EVENTS

February 2022-The Women Physicians Wellness Climb Conference (Grand Cayman)

May 2022-The Women Physicians Wellness Clarity Conference (Aruba)

June 2022-Burns and McDonnell Leadership Retreat (virtual)

July 2022-The Brave Enough Table (virtual)

August 2022-The Women Physicians Wellness Connect Conference (Amelia Island, FL)

2023 SPEAKING EVENTS

February 2023-The Women Physicians Wellness Climb Conference (Grand Cayman)

May 2023-The Women Physicians Wellness Clarity Conference (Aruba)

August 2023-The Women Physicians Wellness Connect Conference (Amelia Island, FL)

2024 SPEAKING EVENTS

February 2024-The Women Physicians Wellness Climb Conference (Grand Cayman)

May 2024-The Women Physicians Wellness Clarity Conference (Aruba)

October 2024-The Women Physicians Wellness Connect Conference (Amelia Island, FL)

October 2024-HCA Midwest Controversies in Standards of Care Neonatal Symposium (Kansas City, KS)

2025 SPEAKING EVENTS

January 2025-The Women Professionals Wellness Conference (Bahamas)

February 2025-Indiana State Medical Association (Indianapolis, Indiana)

February 2025-The Women Physicians Wellness Climb Conference (Grand Cayman)

March 2025-Leadership for Healthcare Professionals European River Retreat (Lyon, France)

May 2025-The Women Physicians Wellness Clarity Conference (Aruba)

August 2025-The Women Physicians Wellness Connect Conference (Amelia Island, FL)

examples of Dr. Howe’s most well-received talks

Negotiation 101: Moving out of Your Emotional Basement

(1 hour without discussions built in)

Conflict management and negotiation is a skill many clinicians are often expected to have mastered but is rarely taught.  This session will explore strategies to help you know your value as you prepare for a successful negotiation, help others behave better in a conflict with you, and use brainstorming and solution-oriented dialogue to reach an outcome that meets your needs while building relationships along the way.

Negotiation 101: Overcoming Basements, Bullheadedness, and Other Barriers

(2 hour talk with discussions built in; this is a similar talk to the 1-hour version above; if time allows, the 2 hour version is preferred here as a talk on negotiation often brings up a lot of discussion).

Hard Choices, Easy Life: 3 Simple (But Not Easy) Steps to Building Resilience

(1 hour without discussions; 2 hours with discussions built in)

By the time we finish training, 3 out of every 4 physicians will meet the criteria for burnout. And yet, the tools for gaining resilience are available to us if we are willing to make some hard choices. This session will explore the 3 simple (but not easy) focuses--internal, external, and financial--to build resilience and specific strategies within each to bounce back from burnout.

Gaining Clarity in Your Clinical Career and Beyond

(1 hour)

Years of medical training have taught us to say yes to every opportunity that could bolster our CV, but this can leave us with an overwhelming workload and an unclear vision of the direction we want our careers to go. This session will explore ways to gain control of our work (and home) life again using strategies to say no gracefully, set boundaries, and start replacing commitments that drain us with ones that inspire us.

How to Jump Without a Parachute: Making the Leap from Clinician to Entrepreneur

(1 hour)

After nearly 20 years as a clinician, I made the transition from physician to founder of a successful business: The Women Physicians Wellness Conference. During this talk, I will share my personal journey as a full-time clinician with a side gig as well as the ten strategies for running a small business while practicing full-time I wish I had known along the way.

For inquiries to have Dr. Howe speak at your event, please send an email to ehowe@themedicaleducator.com.